A Grain in the Hour Glass
by All-American Anteater
Summary: Suddenly being drafted by a secret organization to find a vaccine for a deadly virus that could cause a widespread epidemic was the shock of a lifetime. With the help of Soul Evans, the surly agent assigned to protect her, Maka Albarn will have to crack the seemingly unsolvable puzzle so her world won't fall into the hands of the people trying to destroy it.
1. Chapter 1

**Welp, my first resbang story. _My first resbang story.__  
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**Oh boy, this was the product of blood, sweat, and a lot of tears. Needless to say, I am very glad that it is finished.**

**And, uh, as a disclaimer, I didn't do nearly as much research as I should have, so there are probably a lot of inconsistencies and unrealistic scenes. Most likely, there are. This entire thing is bordering the ridiculousness of _Allegient_ if I'm being completely honest.  
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**But I worked hard on this, and no matter how flawed it is, I love it. That's all I can really say, right? :)**

**Warnings: minor character deaths, mention of terrorism, explicit language, violence/slight gore, illness/talk of diseases, pathological warfare**

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><p>The peculiar thing about life was that you never knew when something would blow up in your face.<p>

Of course, unexpected things like that happened all the time. Whether it was a supplies shortage within mere minutes of a scheduled surgery, or someone trying to blow up your hospital, it didn't really matter.

Nothing mattered at the moment.

Maka Albarn wanted to laugh, wanted to give whoever was in charge of her destiny a high five because they really out done themselves this time. She guessed that life really _did_ blow up in her face, considering the west wing of Death City's General Hospital was now going up in flames.

Now that she thought about it, it was quite ironic, a place that was supposed to save someone's life residing in a city of death.

The explosion was sudden, the sound of the boom echoing in Maka's ears. It rattled the walls and the tables covered in test tubes, and it took a split second before Maka hurried out of the room, her eyes wide in panic. It was bad, bad enough that she heard the explosion from the opposite side of the hospital. She knew she had to help.

She entered the lobby of the second floor, staring in awe at the chaos unfolding in front of her. Loved ones of patients were screaming in terror, hospital personnel were wheeling patients out of their rooms, everyone was talking all at once in this great panic; it was at that moment that Maka knew this would be one hell of a long day.

The lights were flickering, showing signs of failing electricity. It casted an eerie glow on everything, making it seem like it was out of a horror movie.

"Maka!" She turned her head to see Kilik, her friend from medical school rushing towards her. "Good, you're here. Do something to help calm these people down, I have to make sure my patients are stable."

Maka nodded and stood up on top of a chair, getting a clear view of everyone, "Attention everyone, hey—_hey!_" She whistled an ear splitting whistle, catching everyone's attention.

"I understand that things right now are hectic, but I can assure you that we will figure things out-!"

She was cut off by the sound of gunshots, _gunshots_ of all things. Maka dived behind the desk with a yelp, taking cover.

Maka crawled over to the other side of the desk, reaching Kilik who was crouched down as well. "What the _hell_ is going on?" He flinched at the sound of another gunshot.

She looked over at him, "You don't think that—_KILIK!" _

It was so sudden; she almost didn't believe it happened. She screamed as he fell over, his glasses cracking on the linoleum floor. The man standing over him held a twenty-two caliber gun, a disgustingly lewd smile growing on his face. Dried blood splattered his face and Maka was close enough to actually smell the metallic scent.

_Disgusting._

"Dr. Maka Albarn. It's nice to finally meet you." The man lunged at her, painfully gripping her hair in his meaty hand. "Gotta come with me blondie."

She struggled against him, trying to get away. She had to admit, he was strong. He just stood there, taking her kicks to his shins like she was kicking a pillow. After a few seconds of her thrashing he slammed the butt of the gun against her skull, hard enough to draw blood, but not enough to knock her out.

"Quit moving, you _bitch_. Anymore, and it's going to be a very painful ride for you."

Maka tried to blink the stars away, breathing in deeply. She had to get away. Gunshots were still ringing in the air, and she had no clue why this was happening. She had to get her research and run, run far away from this mess.

"You _bastard_."

"Ugh, shut up and get moving." The man shoved her, the gun pressed to the small of her back. Her mind reeled, trying to figure out a way to get away.

"Now what you're gonna do," The man continued to talk, his voice low, "Is that you're gonna take me to your lab. Once we get there, you're going to get your research and you're gonna give it to me, yeah?"

Maka gritted her teeth, wanting nothing more than to punch this guy in the face, "Fuck you."

The man grabbed her loose hair again, pain sprouting in her scalp, "You're gonna get that research you've been working on, do you _understand_?" He enunciated each word, as if he was talking to an ignorant child.

"Crystal."

Maka could practically feel him grinning at her, "Good, now why don't you—oomph!"

The man holding the gun against her suddenly fell to the floor, the gun falling out of his hand. Maka whipped around, coming face to face to a man that supposedly rescued her. His own gun was pointed at her captor's neck, making sure he wouldn't wake up

"Dr. Albarn, you're going to have to come with me. I'll keep you safe." The man grabbed her arm, his grip firm but not painful. "I'm Agent Evans, with a secret organization called Spartoi. We've been assigned to protect you."

Maka looked at him with wide eyes, watching him pocket his gun. "Did you—did you just-!"

"No, I didn't shoot him, I tranqed him. We don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary." He rolled his eyes at her apparent ignorance and tugged on her wrist, his other hand still on his gun, "Dr. Albarn, we don't have time for introductions. We gotta get going."

She eyed him wearily. Did he really expect to go with another man, especially after she was almost kidnapped by one?

"Evans," They both looked at another man with shocking blue hair, firing his gun at the other enemy gunman, "Quit lollygagging!"

Agent Evans waved his hand dismissively and looked at her expectantly, but not making any move to force her. That's what made her trust him at that moment.

Maka relented, "_Fine_, alright. But I have to go back to my lab; all of my research on my latest project is still in there." She had a feeling that the information was severely important. Her friend just died because some scumbag wanted her research. Of course it was important. She couldn't stand anyone like that murderer getting their hands on it.

He threw his head back in frustration, "Do you seriously need it? We need to get out of here!"

"_Yes!_" She spat out through gritted teeth. "That man wanted me because of the research, right? I can't just leave it there!"

Kilik died right in front of her eyes because of something she's been working on. Of course she needed it.

The man in front of her moved his jaw in contemplation, and then finally conceded, "Fine, lead the way."

Maka nodded and turned on her heals, her white lab coat flowing behind her. She kept her face forward, not looking back at her dead co-worker, her friend. Kilik's blood splattered her dark blue scrubs, turning the fabric into a violet hue. She wanted to mourn for him, God did she want too, but she knew something bigger was going on. She made a mental note to get some information out of this—this agent. She _needed_ to know what was going on.

His hand was on her back, making sure that she wouldn't get hit by the flying bullets. Or that she wouldn't run off and do something stupid. Either way, they rushed out of the second floor lobby together and down the hall that Maka originally came. They briskly walked towards her lab, silent along the way.

She kept on glancing at him, trying to figure him out. She would admit, she thought the worst when she first saw him. He nearly looked like the spawn from hell, the impossibly tall man baring his teeth sharp like fangs at her hostage and his hair a pale, almost ghostly blond. But when he grabbed her, he made sure he didn't hurt her. He didn't kill the man holding her hostage when he obviously could have.

She prided herself on her instincts and Agent Evans' rich burgundy eyes had this intensity that _made_ her trust him. But she couldn't _read_ him. She couldn't tell if he was nervous, or if he was in the least bit angry that some bastard blew up a _hospital_. His face was a perfect mask and that pissed her off to no end.

They finally reached her research lab, Maka quickly turning the handle to let themselves in. She briskly walked to her computer and booted it up, typing in the password.

"What are you doing?" Agent Evans leaned over her shoulder, his face _very_ close to hers.

"Ah," Maka glanced at him, but looked back at the screen. She really wasn't used for anyone, especially a _man_, to be this close to her. Her stomach did a strange flip, but she ignored it. "I'm loading all of the necessary files onto the flash drive. I figured it wouldn't be smart to keep the hard copy, so we'll just destroy it."

"Alright." The man just stood back, watching her work.

Maka didn't know what to think about him. He saved her life, she would admit that much. But he just didn't talk to her, didn't offer any information at all. She couldn't take it.

"Okay, _quit_ standing there and me what's going on! My hospital was just attacked by god knows who, and now you're here to make sure I'm _safe?" _Maka just about had it with his silence. Granted, she was stressed out and she was taking out on him, but she didn't know _anything_ that was going on. Surely this man who rescued her from some—some _jackass_ that murdered her friend would know something?

Maka watched the filed load onto her flash drive, waiting for him to talk. She was about to whip her head around and snap at him, but he finally spoke, "Look, I have about as much information as you do. All I know was that I was supposed to get you to headquarters safely. This whole bombing thing," Agent Evans waved his arms around, gesturing to the room around him, "Was _not_ supposed to happen. Apparently someone has the same idea as we do. Getting to you that is."

Maka's shoulders slumped, her heart falling into her stomach. She was overwhelmed. She was just an intern, researching a peculiar case that her mentor assigned to her because he thought it would be a good learning experience. And now people were apparently fighting to get to her first. It was just all so… so _surreal_.

She searched his face, looking for any signs that he was lying to her. The man met her gaze evenly, not flinching at all when she narrowed her eyes at him.

She knew Agent Evans wasn't lying to him. She believed him.

She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. Maka would have plenty of time to sort out her mind when this mysterious agent took her to her safe haven. She would draw her answers out of him or whoever was in charge then.

Maka looked back at the monitor, seeing that the files were finally finished loading. She extracted the flash drive from the computer and turned to Agent Evans, "Alright, now let me just shred the files and then you can take me to wherever you have to take me." He nodded and reached for the flash drive, only for her to move it out of his grasp, "_Woah _hold on, consider this my insurance policy, _Agent Evans_."

He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, annoyed with her, "God, you a fucking piece of work, _doctor_. Let's go; everything will be explained later."

She nodded, pocketing the flash drive. She guessed she didn't fully trust him just yet. She went to a filing cabinet and began to extract the files that needed to be shredded. The agent followed and took the files, feeding them into a shredder.

She would get her answers. She had too.

As soon as the two finished destroying the research files, Agent Evans quickly ushered her out of the hospital and into a sleek black SUV. The other man that was with him (now that she thought about it, the man had _blue_ hair. Blue!) followed swiftly behind, slamming the door behind them. A blonde haired woman took off, the car's tires screeching on the pavement.

"What the _fuck_ did you do?" The blonde glanced in the rearview mirror, glaring at no one in particular, "The mission was to get her out safely, not to fucking _blow up _the hospital!"

"Quit your shrieking. God, you think _we_ did that?" The blue haired man narrowed his eyes in fury, "People were already dead when we got there."

Agent Evans spoke up, adding in to the conversation, "Little miss scientist over here had a gun pressed to her head. They got to her first, Liz."

"Well, fuck." The woman, apparently her name was Liz, floored the gas. The car lurched and Maka had to hold on to the seat to prevent her from falling over. "_Who_ got to her first, Soul? Care to explain to me what's going on then?"

"We're as clueless as you are." Agent Evans' voice was laced with annoyance. "Do you really think we would run into a situation like that not prepared?" Maka tried not to flinch at his rising voice.

She listened to the two bicker, the panic they possessed tangible enough to cut a knife through it. Maka remained silent, mainly because these were the people who saved her life and she wanted to make _she_ was safe. Her shooting off question after question was just going to distract them.

Maka swallowed thickly, glancing back and forth between the two men beside her. While they were masking their anxiety well, it didn't make her feel any better. How could she feel better? She saw one of her close friends get murdered before her eyes and some random bastard held her at gunpoint, demanding that she retrieved her research on her latest project.

She hated to admit it, but she was scared. For the first time in her life, she was truly terrified at what would become of her.

Maka mentally slapped herself. She could not let this consume her mind; she had to keep a clear head.

"Dr. Albarn right? Any idea, any idea _at all_, as too why the hospital was bombed or who those people were?" Liz's voice rang through her ears, and she almost didn't register what she asked. She was too lost in thought.

"I—I don't really know—!"

"You were _there_! You should at least know something!" The woman's gunmetal eyes narrowed, reminding Maka of a feral animal.

"God Liz, just leave it," Agent Evans snapped at the other agent, "She's already freaked out enough as it is. No need for the twenty questions."

"Can't you give a damn about something for once? This could have gone seriously wrong!"

"Fuck, _chill_ _out_ you two. We got her, she's not dead. Now we just have to focus on getting to the headquarters without getting ourselves blown up." The blue haired man rolled his eyes and grinned, knowing full and well that Liz was about to retort back, most likely it being an insult.

"S'not the _point_ 'Star." Liz jerked the wheel, them flying down a discreet road. She was pissed. She was pissed that information was being withheld from her and pissed that _he cut her off_. "Why the hell-!"

Liz couldn't finish her sentence due to the sound of gunshots and glass shattering ringing through the car. Liz yelped in surprise and jerked the wheel, swerving the car into the other lane. She glanced in the rearview mirror and cursed a colorful array of words.

Agent Evans and Star (she assumed that was his name; no one introduced her to him yet) both lunged for their gun. Star was immediate to react while Agent Evans threw himself over Maka's body, shielding her from whatever it was that might come through the car window. Cinnamon and the burning smell of shots being fired wafted through Maka's nose. Her face was buried in the agent's neck and she could have sworn her face would have caught on fire if it weren't for the fact that they were being chased by another car.

"I need you to stay down Dr. Albarn." Gun drawn, Agent Evans rolled down his window to shoot back at the offender. He lifted his body of off hers slightly, allowing her to shimmy herself down to the floorboard.

She couldn't believe this was happening. _She couldn't fucking believe this was happening._

Her heart was pounding in her chest and nervous sweat made her hair stick to the back of her neck. The two men were shooting bullets out the car window and she was stuck huddled on the floorboard afraid she was going to die.

She hated it. She hated the fact that she got herself stuck in a situation like this, and she hated the fact that she couldn't do _anything_ about it. She _hated_ being powerless.

"Goddammit Liz, now would be the time to lose them!" Star retracted his head from outside the window, "I'm out of ammo Soul!"

"Shiiiit, me too." He withdrew his head as well. He ducked down to avoid getting hit.

Liz grunted in acknowledgement, speeding up the acceleration. Agent Evans' hand was braced on her back, probably making sure that nothing was going to happen to her.

"If we fucking _knew_," Liz kept glancing in her mirrors, occasionally making a sharp turn onto a different street, "If we _fucking knew_ what was going on, we would have gotten the car with the bullet proof glass."

"Can't argue with you on that one." Star grunted, peaking his head over his seat. The sound of screeching cars and gunshots were distant. "I don't see any cars Liz."

Maka sighed a breath of relief, slowly sitting up. Her back was against the car door, her legs splayed out in front of her. She glanced up at Agent Evans, and she was slightly reassured that he himself relaxed a little after glancing back behind him.

Liz laughed a loud, almost bitter laugh. Maka had to agree with her; what just happened was not very pleasant. "Well, that's a good thing because we're nearly there."

Star slumped back in his seat, a dumb smile on his face, "Thank fuck for that. Ha, haven't had a good gun fight in _ages_."

Agent Evans halfheartedly glared at the other man, tiredness etching his face, "Shut up, save it for when we get back. You can exaggerate everything when we get there."

Maka wanted to throw up. Everything was happening so fast—she didn't know what to do.

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_


	2. Chapter 2

The car was silent for the last few moments they were on the road. Before Maka and her personal band of body guards reached the headquarters, she idly stared at her lap, not being able to look anywhere else without glancing at either man beside her.

Agent Evans had her sit in the middle seat, refusing to let her sit near the window. That bastard, he wouldn't take no for an answer. She was snug between two agents, but it felt like she was all alone with her thoughts.

Now, she was walking down a series of eerily quiet hallways with Agent Evans by her side. The other two agents bailed as soon as they reached the headquarters, saying something about needing to report the incident.

Agent Evans grumbled about how all they wanted to do was hide out in the cafeteria so he would do all the work, and but Maka didn't have it in herself to laugh. Liz still looked beyond pissed that she got sucked in to a shootout being ill prepared, and Star

They walked in silence all the way to what Agent Evans called the boss's office. Maka kept her face straight ahead, not looking at the man beside her.

She was strong, that was what everyone told her. She was strong and she _would not_ break in front of some stranger. That would have to wait until she was safe by herself inside her room or some lab she was positive they would stick her in.

_The stranger who saved your life._

"We're here." Agent Evans mumbled beside her, opening the door that suddenly appeared in front of them. She must have been stuck inside her thoughts for longer than she thought.

Maka went into the room, Agent Evans following right behind her. Inside the office was a young man, maybe a few years older than her. He looked up from some paperwork he was doing and nodded at Agent Evans.

"Oh, you're finally back! And you must be Dr. Albarn! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Maka shifted on her heels, unsure on what to make of this situation. She wanted nothing more than to just explode, to just snap and ask all of the questions she had been holding back. But she knew she couldn't do that just yet and it was killing her.

Agent Evans by no means did not have the same thought process as she did because as she was about to speak, he exploded. "There were _other_ people there Kid! Other people were there trying to kill her! How can you stand there acting like everything's fine?"

"_What?_" The other man stood up in shock, "What do you mean _other people_ were there?"

"I mean that Dr. Albarn here had a gun pressed to her head when I got there." Agent Evans said each word as if he was speaking to a child.

The man in front of her took a deep breath and sat back down. "Dr. Albarn, I'm Donovan Kidman, but you can just call me Kid; everyone else does." Kid looked back at Agent Evans, a hard look on his face, "Explain to me what in the world happened over there."

Agent Evans glanced at Maka then spoke, "Someone planted a bomb on the west wing of the hospital, and there were several gunmen on the floor Dr. Albarn was on."

"Hmm—okay, okay." Kid stood up and walked to the front of his desk, "Dr. Albarn, do you have the research you've been working on? The information pertaining to the Black Blood Virus?"

She stared at him, not believing what he just said. He asked these questions like she didn't just witness people die, like she didn't just huddle on the floorboard of a car trying to prevent a bullet from piercing her skull.

"Yeah, she has it." Agent Evans lazily put his hands behind his head, his stance screaming 'I don't care.'

"Whoa, _hold on_!" Maka looked at the two men with mild disgust. They stood here, talking about whether or not she had her research on a topic that was just assigned to her for fun. She had to work on this mysterious virus she discovered in a patient because it was an amazing learning opportunity, and these people she just met were apparently in desperate need of this research. She wanted answers, and she would get them first!

"For the record, you're not getting _any_ of my research, and that is _final_." Maka looked at Kid and Agent Evans, a hard glint in her eyes, "You are going to tell me what the hell is going on and you are going to tell me _now_."

Both men looked at her, eyes wide with shock. She honestly wanted to wither away, to go _hide_ somewhere, because her temper always got the best of her and now she probably crossed a line she shouldn't have and insulted the people responsible for her safety.

But she wasn't going to back down. She couldn't. _She couldn't_.

She at least owed Kilik that.

Kid sighed, leaning back against the desk, "My apologies Dr. Albarn. You must be confused; I hope I'll be able to answer any question you have."

Maka nodded, letting out a slow breath. "You can start by explaining to me why I'm here in the first place."

"I would like to know that as well." Agent Evans glared at Kid, and Maka realized that he didn't know anything either. It was no wonder he was furious; he just went to a hospital expecting to just escort a doctor back to his headquarters. Running headfirst into a shootout surely wasn't expected.

"You already know about the growing tensions with Arachnophobia." He nodded towards Soul, who begrudgingly nodded back. Maka stared at them both, not having a single clue as to what they were talking about. Arachnophobia sounded almost like a name for a gang.

"And what exactly does that have to do with my hospital being bombed?" Maka clenched her jaw, desperately trying to refrain from snapping at them. She hated being clueless.

"Right, of course." He looked at Maka, a serious gleam in his eyes. "They're a terrorist organization, but unfortunately they have close ties with the government, so it's been very difficult to catch them with the crimes they committed."

"That and they've been becoming more and more dangerous as time goes on." Maka looked up at Agent Evans, waiting for him to continue, "There have been several murders that led back to them, but we were never able to get any hard evidence on them, and the government's covering everything up."

"Yeah, okay." Maka nodded, understanding what Agent Evans was saying. A certain dread filled her stomach, and realization began to dawn on her.

She had a vague idea on why she was here.

"Dr. Albarn, Soul, there have been recent outbreaks of the Black Blood virus. And we have reasons to believe that the outbreak was engineered. And you know as well as I do that there is no known cure for it."

Maka took a deep breath and absorbed what Kid just told her. She remembered back to when she first received the charts for the mysterious virus, remembered that she was told to research it and learn as much as she could from it.

Then she remembered the explosion. She remembered the sudden boom that rocked the entire hospital into a panic and the man demanding that she turned over her research on what she thought was an anomaly of disease.

She swallowed thickly. This couldn't be happening, not to her.

Shit like this _never_ happened to her.

"So… pathological warfare. You're telling us that they're planning to this virus as some type of pathological weapon." Agent deadpanned. His face was void of any emotion, but his jaw was clenched and it made Maka wanted to rip her hair out. This was some kind of joke. It _had_ to be some kind of joke.

To Maka's dismay, Kid nodded. Agent Evans let out a bitter laugh of disbelief, at the situation or at the fact that this Arachnophobia group would do something this rash.

A heavy silence hung over them. Maka's uncontrollably beating heart pounded loud in her chest, and she was almost afraid the others would hear her. Slowly but surely, she was beginning to understand why she was assigned to study the strange blood sample that was given to her.

Maka was by no means conceited, but she _was_ the top of her class in college. She outshined everyone that graduated in her year, and displayed great promise of showing her true potential. She was _smart_.

She was fucking smart enough to know that this origination—Spartoi or whatever the fuck they called themselves –wanted her to find the cure. She knew this was what they wanted.

Maka silently groaned. The fact that her researching was going very poorly told her that this newfound mission was going to be extremely difficult.

She took a deep breath and straightened her back. The time to be scared shitless was not now. "May I ask why they would even want to do that?"

Kid shrugged, "To cause mass chaos. To possess the opportunity to control the nation."

"Well shit," Agent Evans ran a hand through his thick hair, "You said there's no known cure. With that they could—"

"They could say they actually have one and take over." Maka shook her head, disbelieving what she just heard, "But that can't be possible, the government would never allow it!"

"You underestimate how extensive Arachnophobia's ties run." Kid stated quietly, looking at her solemnly.

"Everything'll go to shit if this thing becomes a pandemic." Maka watched Agent Evans, and she wanted to think that she saw his eyes twitch in the way that one would when they were nervous or frustrated. She couldn't explain it, but she really wished she didn't imagine it.

"And that's why we can't let that happen." Kid looked at Maka, and she knew he was going to ask the question she naively hoped he wouldn't ask. "Please, Dr. Albarn, we need to find the cure before Arachnophobia does, and we're positive you're the person that can help."

"I—of course I'll help." She couldn't exactly say no, not after what happened at the hospital. "And call me Maka. Formalities are kind of useless now anyways."

Kid smiled, "Of course. And thank you for your help. Soul, you'll be with Maka from now on, she is a vital piece in this and _nothing_ can happen to her."

"Yeah, sure." He pulled off his bulletproof vest, readjusting his leather jacket.

Maka's jaw dropped. She was in a facility where literally everyone had a gun on them. Did she seriously need protecting in a _lab_? No, _no_. She did _not_ need a babysitter!

"Ah, hold on, I don't think—"

"Please don't start Maka. _Anything_ can happen, and with having Soul with you even in the lab, we can ensure you'll be safe." Kid was apologetic, she could tell. And it pissed her off that she felt guilty for arguing.

In some part of her mind, Maka knew this was a battle she was going to lose. But it doesn't mean she has to accept it. "But I don't need to be watched by him-!"

"Aw, come on, I'm not that bad!" His mouth morphed into a feral smirk and much to her horror, he slung a muscled arm around her shoulders. "Think of this as a new, beautiful partnership. Show me all the science-y stuff you do."

Maka tried to wriggle herself out of him grip, but he would not budge. What the hell was _wrong_ with him? She could tell his body was wired from the information Kid just told them, and now he was acting like everything was just fine and dandy?

It was absolutely _infuriating_. His attitude didn't match the situation, and that pissed her off to no end.

"I'll be having a meeting later with the rest of Spartoi to inform them on the situation." Kid called out behind them, ignoring Maka's silent protests. "Don't worry about conveying the information. I'll let everyone know. And make _sure_-"

He waved, steering the still struggling Maka (she would've elbowed him in the gut, but she figured that would be a bit rude as of now) towards the hallway in front of them, "No prob, Donny. I got everything covered."

"_SOUL_, I told you to quit calling me that!"

Kid's shrieks of frustration echoed throughout the empty, and Agent Evans bellowed in laughter. Maka let Soul guide her, not believing what she just heard. Really? They were _joking around_? Once they were out Kid's office, Maka wiggled herself from his grasp and whipped herself around to face him.

"What the _hell_? You're acting like everything's okay when it's not! You both are!" Maka didn't understand _at all_ why Agent Evans acted so nonchalantly about this whole ordeal. Wasn't he concerned earlier? Or was she just totally lying to herself so she would feel better knowing that others felt as scared as she did? All she knew right now that she was having an extremely hard time keeping her temper in check. "_Agent Evans_—"

He looked at her hard, silencing her immediately. "First of all, call me Soul. No need for formalities right?" Maka glared at him for that. He was totally mocking her! "And second, you need to cut Kid some slack. Things have been hard for him; his dad died recently, leaving him to take charge of everything."

Oh, now Maka felt guilty. "Oh! I didn't know, I'm so sorry-"

"Nah, don't be," Agent Ev- _Soul- _dug his hands deep in his pockets, a remorseful look on his face, "It was hard on him, on all of us. Things basically went to shit when the old boss died."

"I—I'm sorry." What else could Maka say? How was she supposed to respond to the fact that these people _lost_ someone, and now they had to deal with whatever it was that was happening? It was no wonder Soul had light of everything. Kid probably needed it.

She opened her mouth to ask more about what happened, but closed it again. The look on Soul's face told her that now was not time to get into the details.

Which was something she could relate to. Personal things should stay personal. There were some things that she would rather keep to herself, so she could understand Soul's unspoken reasons on not wanting to talk about it.

He offered her a smile, trying futilely to make her feel better, "It was hard on him, but he made things work. He built it back up again."

_That_ threw her for a loop. She didn't know what to think of him. When she first saw him, he was this whirlwind of fierceness that pointed a gun at a man that nearly kidnapped her, only to turn into this surly man who would throw an occasional snarky comment at her. Now he was trying to _comfort_ her? Shouldn't he be the type to tell her to suck it up and that other people had it worse?

There was more to him than she thought. Hell, there was more to _everything_ than she thought.

"Alright, Miss Scientist. I'll take you to the land of the nerds so you can get started." The smile was gone as soon as it appeared, his forehead creased in a scowl.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a second, but ultimately just pouted. "Don't call me that."

He snorted and turned on his heels. He stated to walk and Maka quickly followed behind him. She would figure him out sooner or later


	3. Chapter 3

It was understandable that Maka's nerves were a little frayed after what happened at the hospital. She and Soul conversed for a while making small talk before they fell into a semi-comfortable silence due to the fact that Maka was just too wound up to make any good conversation.

He thankfully understood that she was like a tightly coiled spring at this point, and didn't hold it against her when she was being especially harsh with him. Maka was extremely grateful to learn that Soul had the patience of a saint.

Maka clenched the sides of her lab coat. The faint memory of Kilik resurfaced and she had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to keep from sobbing. It was so quick, so _sudden_… If she had acted sooner, or if Soul came a second quicker, would Kilik still be alive and would have been able to help her keep her head on straight?

She didn't know. She _didn't_ act when she could have and Soul _didn't_ come just a mere _second_ faster, and Kilik paid the price for it.

She just wanted to get to the lab so she could throw herself into work that would help people. She needed the distraction.

Maka glanced up at Soul. His eyes were downcast and his hands were deep in his jacket pockets. She wondered what he was thinking.

He looked up and watched each door they went past, seemingly searching for one in particular. He suddenly stopped in front of one and grasped the handle.

"Here we are, Maka." He let out a breath and turned to her, "Before we go in there, I just want to let you know that the main guy's kind of a… He's kind of a prick."

Taken aback, Maka stared at him in slight shock. Apparently he didn't have a high opinion of this guy. Slowly, she said, "I'm sure I can handle him."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but then shrugged. "Whatever you say, Miss Scientist."

"I _told_ you not to call me that!" She crossed her arms tightly, trying to refrain from smacking him. She to at least keep a professional front, and violence wouldn't do that for her.

Soul mumbled 'whatever' under his breath with a smirk and turned the handle. They walked in, and Maka marveled at the lab in front of her. At the hospital, she was only allowed access into one of the smaller labs with the cheaper equipment. But _this_, this was state of the art!

The room itself was of decent size that had rows of microscopes that were hooked up to large monitors. Only a few people were bustling around, shuffling through paperwork and such, but she could see that whatever it was that you could see through the microscope, you could enlarge it onto the monitor.

Every negative thought that was running through Maka's head just moments ago vanished in an instant. This room was filled with equipment that she couldn't even begin to fathom using, and she couldn't wait to get her hands on it. The chill of the room jumpstarted the adrenaline surging through her veins, and for once she was looking on the positive side of her situation.

Maka followed Soul's lead, her eyes still staring in wonder at the high-tech microscopes. She gently bumped into his back when he stopped suddenly. She mumbled sorry, and peaked over his shoulder, seeing a man bent over, peering into one of the microscopes.

He mouthed for her to not worry about it and cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the man peering through a microscope in front of them.

"Ox, this is Maka, the person Kid was telling us about. Maka, this is Ox Ford, head researcher here."

He was blunt and straight to the point, which in a way was no surprise to Maka. What did shock her was the fact that his face had a stone cold look about it. His eyes were void of emotion, but she could see his jaw twitch with mild annoyance.

He _really_ must not like him.

Ox looked up and narrowed his eyes at them, almost like he was analyzing them. It was a long and uncomfortable moment before he nodded and stuck out his hand.

"Hmm, yes, I'm Doctor Ox Ford; head of the pathological research and analysis department."

Maka wearily shook his hand, eyeing him. This man was strange to say the least. "Nice to meet you."

He dropped her hand and pushed his glasses up his face, keeping them from sliding down his nose. "To be completely honest, we've been falling behind here, failing to keep up with the paper work and all. You'll be a great help to us-!"

"Um, hold on a second! Paperwork?" Maka glanced at Soul with accusing eyes. She was _told_ she was going to assist with the actual research. She absentmindedly clutched the flash drive through her pocket. There had to be some miscommunication on someone's part, and if she really was going to help with—with the _paperwork_, she had to keep the flash drive with her. She _had_ too.

She didn't trust these people, not yet at least. That little piece of information was keeping her useful, and she preferred to keep it that way.

"Um, yes? I assume that's why you're here?" His face clearly read that he thought that she was just a newbie idiot that didn't know what she was talking about.

She really wanted to punch him in the nose.

"Actually," Soul did not try to hide the pure amusement in his voice at all, "Kid chose her specifically to help with whatever you guys do in here."

Ox gapped at him. Maka stood up a little straighter. She wished she felt ashamed at how smug she felt, but it felt _so good_ to prove pretentious jackasses like him wrong.

Ox shook his head, laughing in disbelief. "But she's just an _intern_!" Ox pointed at the badge still hanging from Maka's chest pocket. He sneered at her, rolling his eyes at the suggestion of her working with him, "She can't work on this case! It's too critical at this point to-!"

"_Excuse me_?" Maka could feel her blood boil with fury, "Don't you _dare_ talk to me like I'm some incompetent monkey!"

Her gut churned. Arguing with him made her miss Kilik even more.

It was so much easier to work with people who desperately wanted to find answers like she did, who wanted to find out more about a certain disease or freak injury with the same passion as she did. That's why she and Kilik worked so well together in med school. They had the same goals and they were willing to work together to get what they wanted. Kilik treated her as an _equal_.

Even when they chose different specialties, him with pediatrics and her with pathology, they still talked about things. They still tried to figure shit out _together_.

Or at least they used to.

She didn't need this asshole treating her like shit when she already felt like it. Her breaths were becoming erratic, and it was becoming hard to keep her anger under control.

Ox's face flushed at her outburst. Either what she said really stuck a chord with him or he just wasn't expecting for her to fight back. His brow creased angrily and he was about to retort when Soul stopped him.

"Look, I get it's weird that you have to deal with a new person, an _intern_ for that matter, so soon. But you're going to have to get used to it." Soul placed a warm hand on Maka's shoulder, and she realized how much taller than her he really was. "She has found out more information about this virus in a week than you and your team did in a _month_. You need to chill the fuck out and accept the facts."

Maka looked back to see him staring at Ox, not at all amused. She gapped at him, shocked that he would say that on her behalf.

Ox blubbered, trying to form words in his rage, "I—I can't believe this!"

Soul scoffed, "Well, believe it. Kid's having a meeting soon, so he'll fill you in."

Ox stared at them for a heartbeat of a moment before stalking out of the lab. He mumbled something about incompetent fools, which made Soul chuckle.

"Yup, that's the head of the lab." Soul squeezed her shoulder and let his hand fall to his side, "He's an ass and has a hard time dealing with people that have a chance at being better than him."

"And I have to deal with him. Lovely." Maka rubbed her temples, trying to soothe away the tension behind her eyes. "Hey, thanks for um, backing me up."

He looked down at her and shrugged. He reverted back to his default expression of nonchalance and Maka couldn't help but feel a little disappointed about it. "It's no problem. Ox's always been a prick. I kinda knew he would react like that."

He grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. She noticed that his too long hair fell in front of his eyes as he rested his head on his hand.

_He needs a haircut._

"Everything alright?"

Shit. He caught her staring.

"What, yeah I'm fine!" Maka tried to smile to hide her embarrassment, but she failed miserably,

Thankfully, Soul didn't mention it. He just shrugged and closed his eyes. "Whatever you say, Miss Scientist."

She huffed and turned away from him. Thankfully, Ox left his notes lying around, so she could easily read his progress and where he left off.

"Are you sure you have to be in _here_?" Maka cringed at how rude that sounded. But it was still a question. "Can't you stand outside or something?"

He didn't look offended by her crudeness. He just shrugged and looked at her with lazy eyes. "I'm starting to think that you don't want me around."

She squeaked and muttered an apology, but all he did was laugh and told her to learn to take a joke.

He was infuriating.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw him nestle his head into his arms. She looked at him for a few more seconds before turning back to her papers. She just realized that the man had sharp teeth.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Dammit_, okay, run through the symptoms again."

Soul slammed his head on the table and groaned, "Sore throat, cough, runny nose, then really high fever and bloodshot eyes. _Then _the nervous system begins to shut down, and then the person dies because their lungs don't work. _Maka_, we've been over this over a million times-!"

"I know!" She snapped at him, and immediately felt guilty. "I know. I'm sorry, I'm just—I'm just not finding anything knew and it's stressing me out, okay? I'm sorry."

His eyes softened and he shook his head, "No, I know your stressed. They threw a lot on your plate."

Maka took a deep breath and backed away from her microscope. They spent most of their time in the lab, and Soul was being such a good sport about it. He grumbled and moaned about how hungry and bored he was some of the time, and that was _really_ annoying, but he was surprisingly good company!

Most of the time, anyways.

He dealt with her ramblings and brainstorming, and sometimes he even tried to brainstorm _with_ her. Of course, once he realized that he had absolutely no idea of what anything that Maka said even meant, he stopped trying, but he did keep her sane.

He was infuriating at times but he kept her sane. And that said a lot.

"Yeah, uh, going through something I already know helps figure other things out."

Soul nodded at her, "Makes sense."

They fell into a comfortable silence. They held each other's gaze a moment longer than Maka was comfortable with before she glanced away and peered again into her microscope. She watched the infected red blood cells break away and clump together again, surely causing the symptoms they have discovered.

From what they have found out, they realized that it was extremely similar to the common cold, only it was highly contagious and was spread through a simple touch.

It was a lot more dangerous than any of them realized. Peering closer, she saw the grey film surrounded the cells, and Maka had to suppress the sick feeling in her stomach. _That_ was festering in people, innocent citizens!

She leaned her head back again and thought. She just thought. Her mind was running a million miles a minute, and she was trying to keep track of everything that could be a possible solution to this hell hole she somehow got herself into.

She thought about antibodies, she thought about white blood cells, she thought about the genetic structure of the human body… She thought of everything at once and it was beginning to make her head spin.

"Hey," She looked up to see Soul looking straight at her, "You need to just take a step back and breathe."

Maka's shoulders slumped, "No, I can't do that—"

"Shit Maka, _yes_ you can." Soul stood up and dragged her chair away from the table, "You are allowed to take five fucking minutes to clear your head. God knows Ox does it all the time."

Her protests died on her tongue. She was just so tired. A break would be nice.

"Besides, it looked like that big brain of yours was about to explode, nerd." His baritone laugh rumbled through the room as she tried to reach behind her to smack him. He grabbed the wrist that was about to hit him and smirked widely when he notice her ears turn pink with rage.

"You're such an ass." She glared at him, letting her hand fall to her lap as he let go of her.

"But it's just so _easy_!" Soul placed his hands on her neck and began to knead the knots away. "But you have to admit it's a good distraction."

Maka had to take a minute to register what he just said. Did he mean the fact that he always relentlessly teased her? Or that his very large and very warm hands were massaging the tense muscles of her neck and back, and that it _felt so good_?

Right. He probably meant when he made fun of her.

"Whatever. You're still a jerk." Maka huffed and crossed her arms. But as Soul continued his ministrations on the back of her neck, she felt all the tension melt away. Her body relaxed into Soul's hands, and she just focused on the circles he was kneading to erase the knots in her neck.

"You're doing a lot, you know." Soul murmured quietly, and she almost didn't hear him. "We owe you a lot."

"I'm just… I'm just doing what anyone else would do." Maka swallowed the thick lump that was growing in her throat. The sentimentality in Soul's voice struck something within Maka, and it _scared_ her. Not many people could do that and he did it within a number of weeks. There was just something about him that made her trust him.

She didn't really know him, and he didn't really know her. What was she doing exactly? She was supposed to be helping find a cure to this disease that would practically cause a second Bubonic Plague, not… do whatever it was that she was doing to herself with him.

She felt his hands hesitate on her back, and she knew he wasn't just massaging her anymore. They gripped her shoulders, his thumbs tracing patterns on her neck.

"It's fucking sick, but I'm really glad this whole thing made me meet you." Soul's was low, and it made her heart beat faster, like she was on this roller coaster that never stopped.

Her heart did this weird flip when she realized kind of liked it when guys excessively cursed. And that he smelled like cinnamon. Again.

_No! Now is not the time!_

"Um, me too." She needed to get out of there. She couldn't do this, not now. "I uh, think I'm going to go out for a little bit, get some fresh air and stuff."

"Sure," He leaned away from her, his brow furrowed. He didn't say anything else, and Maka was thankful for it.

She stiffly nodded at him and rushed out the door, not caring that he technically had to be with her when she's not in her room, sleeping. Maka walked swiftly down a series of hallways, not paying attention to where she was going. As long as Soul wasn't following her, she didn't care if she got lost. She would find her way back to the lab eventually.

She slowed her pace and ran hand through her loose hair. He wouldn't follow her. He knew when to give her space, which was exactly what she needed.

She wandered through the different hallways, trying to calm her beating heart. It didn't make any sense! Then again, nothing made sense to her at this point.

Maka didn't want to think about him. He made things more confusing, and she really didn't need that right now.

She pursed her lips in frustration. He was so unbelievable! Where exactly did he get off doing stuff like that and expect that she wouldn't have a reaction!? He was doing this to her on purpose!

…No. She was unbelievable. She was letting her feelings get the better of her and she was blaming him for it.

"Maka? What are you doing out here?"

Maka jumped at Liz's voice echoing down the hall. "Liz! I, uh… I was just-!"

"Save it." Liz smiled knowingly at her, "It's obvious why you're out here."

This wasn't fair. Maka needed time to hide what was going on in her head so she could do her work! Liz caught her at a bad time!

Maka swallowed thickly, trying to save the dignity she had left. "I was just trying to clear my head. Things have been kind of difficult."

Liz laughed, swiping part of her hair out of her face, "I bet. Seriously, Soul's probably pissing the shit out of you. It's why you're out here right, to get away from him?"

Maybe the whole cussing thing was common with the agents.

Well, she was dead on, if not for the wrong reasons. "Well, I guess you could say that."

Maka sucked her lips behind her teeth, rocking on her feet. Liz tilted her head at her, sizing her up. Shit. Shit shit shit, Maka said the wrong thing. She didn't know what she said, but she obviously said the wrong thing. Now Liz knew something was up.

_Kill me now._

Liz nodded slowly and closed her eyes, "Ah. There's something else, isn't there."

Her stomach dropped. She was already digging a grave for herself; she might as well make it deeper. "Um, nope. Just stressed about Arachnophobia."

"I would believe you if you weren't so fidgety." Liz chuckled and placed her hands on her hips.

Maka shoulders slumped. Was she really that bad at hiding her emotions? Everyone always said that she wore her heart on her sleeve. Kilik even said that she was as easy to read as a children's book, and it always pissed her off.

Now she really _really_ wished that she had Soul's stone face. That would come in handy right about now.

"I'm not sure what went down between you too, but just know that Soul's a good guy." Liz smiled (it was genuine and it made Maka want to throw up) and placed her hand on Maka's shoulder, "He's not some douche bag that messes with people for fun."

Maka forced a smile. She knew that, she really did. She didn't need Liz telling her that too. "Yeah, I know."

Liz squeezed her shoulder and turned on her heel, walking down the hallway. "Just don't think too hard about it, yeah?"

Maka gapped at the older woman as she sashayed away from her. What exactly did she mean by that?

_Don't think too hard…? _

Whatever. She was done. She had a job to do and she wasn't going to let something as trivial as mere emotions stop her.

She just had to harden herself because her heart was just screwing everything up for her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Whoa**** short chapter alert, sorry about that.**

* * *

><p>Maka shook her pigtails loose from their hold as she walked the hallway back to the lab. That little talk with Liz... sparked something within her. Soul was a sour, grumpy man with an attitude, but he was also extremely caring.<p>

Maka just met him, and she didn't really know anything about him. But she would like too. It was that little tug at her heart that made her want to get to know this strange man more that shocked her.

She huffed and sped up her pace. This was ridiculous. She had a _job_ to do. She couldn't be worrying about something as fickle as emotions. It was probably just a fleeting infatuation that she held for Soul. Maka would get over it.

"Maka!"

Her ears perked to the sound of her name, and she snapped her head up to see Kid briskly walking towards her.

"Hey Kid, I was just walking back to the lab." Maka heard the slight urgency in his voice and she was nervous that he thought she was slacking off.

...In a way, she kind of was. She _did _abruptly leave for personal reasons, but she had to clear her head! She just couldn't concentrate with Soul's presence looming over her head.

"No no, that's fine." Unease flashed across his face, and it was gone as soon as it appeared. Maka almost missed it. "I'm glad I caught you, if anything. There's a matter we have to discuss."

"Alright." Whatever it was Kid needed to talk to her about, she could handle it. She might as well add something else to her massive plate of problems.

"A new outbreak of the virus was discovered in a town about thirty minutes away from here. We were able to obtain some of the victims' bodies for an autopsy." Kid stood up a little straighter and smoothed out the wrinkles of his coat. Something was bothering him.

"Did you get the results back?" The air suddenly felt a little colder. Nervous goosebumps prickled on Maka's skin underneath her lab coat, and Maka rubbed her arms so they would go away.

"Ox is running them now. He's testing for any signs that the virus mutated. But that's not why I wanted to speak with you." Kid's face fell into a seriousness that made Maka nervous. "The virus is spreading at an exponential rate, and the number of casualties is rising."

Maka nodded, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. She knew, God did she know, that more and more people were falling victim to the virus, and she had made no progress to compensate for it. She hated to admit it, but she hit a dead end.

"I know, and I'll figure something out. I just need more time." She knew she could do it. She just needed that one piece that would make the puzzle all come together.

"You're doing everything you can, and I'm so grateful for that, please understand." Kid offered her a smile that didn't reach his eyes, but then grew serious, "You just need to be careful. Arachnophobia knows about you, and they know how vital you are to creating a vaccine. I don't think we _have_ more time."

Maka smiled at him, a hard glint in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll come up with something."

He laughed lightly, and Maka was glad that he seemed to be less tense, despite the horrible circumstances. "Alright Maka. You're doing some great work here."

She smiled and bid him farewell as he walked away, and continued her way back to the lab. Her smile faded as she counted each door, getting closer and closer to her destination.

Her stomach churned. What would Soul say? She desperately hoped that he would just forget her little freak out between them. Maybe she was making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe she over read the situation and all that was happening were her emotions getting the best of her.

That had to be it. She was just being over emotional. She wasn't going to let something like this screw up everything she has been working so hard for in the past several weeks. And Soul didn't deserve to be caught in the crossfire of her inner turmoil.

She would just say she had a mental breakdown and needed a break from the lab. Surely he would understand that.

Shit. The door she was looking for came into view and she wanted nothing more than to set herself on fire.

No, she could handle this. Kilik said almost always people would believe everything she said if she had a good performance. She was Maka Fucking Albarn and she was going to cure the Black Blood Virus.


	6. Chapter 6

Maka looked at the door handle and inhaled deeply.

_Here goes nothing._

She put her mask on, absolutely determined to look like nothing was wrong. She grasped the handle and swung the door open, embracing the ear piercing squeak you get from badly oiled doors. She strode in there with a purpose, confidence clear in her stride.

If she believed that she wasn't drowning in emotional turmoil, then surely other people would believe her too.

The cold air of the room chilled her skin and nipped at her nose, a feeling she was oh so used to feeling. Soul slowly twirled around in his chair, his head buried in his arms that were braced on the back of the chair. His mop of unruly platinum hair hung from his head, and Maka's fingers twitched from wanting to brush the strands from his face.

He seemed to not hear her steps as she walked in. He rotated in the chair slowly, almost absentmindedly. Maka furrowed her eyebrows and walked up to him.

"Soul? You alright?"

He jerked his head up and blinked. He ran his hand through his hair, slicking the mess back. "Just tired. You cool?"

Something wasn't right, but she let it slide. She wasn't acting right either. "Yeah, I'm cool." She plopped down in front of her microscope with a renewed vigor.

Maka aligned her eyes with the microscope lenses to hopefully block out all thoughts of him, but she could feel his eyes on her. She wasn't watching him, or even glancing at him. She had her eyes keenly focused on her microscope, but she could practically feel his eyes burning holes in the back of her head.

And it wasn't even like before. It wasn't… dare she say an endearing stare? Was that even the right word? It was tense, and it honestly freaked Maka out.

Seriously? Couldn't he read a book or something? Or at least keep his eyes to himself? Or play _solitaire_?

She bit the inside of her cheek, letting the sharp pain keep her from snapping at Soul. "Um, you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, m'fine. Just worry about the vaccine." The warmth in his voice from before was gone now. Maka didn't know what to say. Sure, he could be a dick sometimes, but now he just seemed… cold.

She pushed herself away from her desk to get a better look at him. "Soul, are you sure you're okay? You seem a bit off."

"I told you I was _fine_. Just—just get the vaccine thing done, would you?" He raised his eyebrow flippantly at her, and she glared at him in return.

God, he was such a hypocritical _asshole_. She could tell he was stressed; and she just wanted to help him! If he didn't want any help trying de-stress or whatever, she was cool with that. Whatever, she didn't care. He could deal with it himself.

With new energy, she dived into her work, very eager to forget Soul and the other existing issue that loomed over her head. Her work absorbed her conscience and that's how she wanted it to be.

She pressed her eyes closer to the plastic; ignoring the throbbing pain it caused her eye sockets. She closely analyzed the blood sample, watching the cells move and eat at each other, like they were fighting.

Even though it was right in front of her face, she still didn't see anything. A lightning bolt of inspiration didn't strike her, and it pissed her off.

What was she _missing_? Was there some sort of hole that would allow her needle to pass through the barrier without damaging the cell? Hell, even scraping the barrier would be helpful at this point.

Wait. Could she do that? Could she _really_…?

"Holy _shit_—okay okay okay." Maka pushed herself back from the desk, suppressing the rising excitement crawling up her throat.

"What?" Soul looked up at her, eyebrows raised at her sudden outburst.

"Nothing—I mean, it might be something? Just tell Ford I need more blood samples." Soul looked at her warily, but pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the other scientist's number.

He muttered a few things while he eyed Maka, who was leafing through sheets of information. Her eyes were bright, a real difference from when she was stressed about not being able to push through that barrier of not knowing what to do.

She could tell Soul was utterly confused and probably thought she was having a mental breakdown, but the mere possibility of solving this impossible puzzle made her stop caring.

"Maka, what the hell are you freaking out about?" Soul put his phone down, visibly trying to keep up with why Maka was so excited.

"I think that if, and this is a huge if, I can maybe puncture the barrier surrounding the infected cells instead of sampling it as a whole, I can isolate the infected cell so we can get vaccine."

"Okay?" His nose scrunched up like it did when he got confused, a little wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

Maka did a little bunny hop, trying to find the words to convey her excitement. How could he not understand how huge this was? This right here could solve everything!

These very words were crawling up her throat, begging to be voiced. And she would have, she would have screamed them into the heavens if it weren't for Ox unceremoniously swinging the door open, causing a disturbance.

His very _existence_ was a disturbance, honestly.

"I swear Albarn, I'm beginning to think that all you're doing is wasting our resources."

She noticed that he didn't bring the supplied she asked for and Maka let out a long and annoyed breathe through her nose. She would not let him get under her skin. This was too important.

"Just listen to me," Maka looked at him in the eyes unflinchingly, not at all willing to take any of his derogatory shit, "I really think we've been going about this the wrong way. We've been destroying infected cell after infected cell because we that the actual virus was the key."

Ox clenched his jaw, and Maka couldn't help but feel that maybe he was actually listening to her. He did this _infuriating_ motion with his hands to signal for her to keep talking.

"I'm thinking that instead of targeting the virus itself, we should really focus its barrier." She powered through, ignoring Ox's incredulous stare. She was right! _She was right!_

He rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up his nose, "Albarn, that sounds utterly ridiculous—!"

"Better than what you've come up with." It was barely audible, but both Ox and Maka turned to see Soul scowling at him.

Or maybe he was scowling at the both of them? She couldn't be really sure. He's been in an awfully sour mood lately.

Maka pressed her lips together. She would figure what the hell was wrong with him later.

"Look, just think about it. The barrier is a part of the virus, so it only makes sense if we can use it as a vaccine. It's a miracle we didn't think of it sooner."

_Just listen to me! Now is not the time to be a stubborn mule._

His face grew red, and Maka wasn't sure if it was because of embarrassment or anger. A guttural sound of frustration rose from his throat and Maka knew at that moment that she won.

She had to give him some credit. She knew how much it pissed her off to admit that she was wrong. That and she knew he would do everything he could do to create this vaccine that would save humanity. He was a lot like her in that way.

"_Fine_. We'll pursue your little theory." He stalked passed her and pulled a chair, organizing his workspace, "I'll call a team down so we can get started. If you're right, and that is a big if, then we need a mass production as soon as possible."

She fought back a smile. Finally they were getting somewhere.

"Awesome, so I'll be going now. If you guys need me, I should be in the cafeteria or something." Soul cleared his throat, slicking his unruly hair back. He was almost to the door when Maka stopped him.

She grabbed his hand and forced him to look at her. Her eyebrows furrowed with worry, because while Soul sometimes acted cold and distant, this was abnormal for him. He never gave her the cold shoulder like this.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting strange—!" She talked so only Soul could hear her, but it was like it fell silent on his ears.

"M'fine. Just going to get something to eat." He squeezed her hand, but dropped it quickly. While he smiled, most likely to placate her worrying about him, it didn't do anything to calm her. The warmth from his hand decapitated quickly, and all she could feel was the frigid coldness of her latex gloves.

She _knew it_. She knew she fucked up as soon as she stepped a foot outside of the lab when she got scared of her own feelings. When everything gets squared away, she'll be sure to straighten things out with him.

She just hoped that she wasn't making a mistake by not going after him now.

Maka was utterly exhausted.

She worked nonstop, attempting to get enough of a sample from the blood so that she could effectively create a vaccine, but it was extremely difficult. After the first failed attempt (Maka honestly wanted to cry; the cells were destroyed again when she accidentally scraped too much of the barrier and Ox did not fail to mention this) she suggested a microscope more high-powered so she could visualize what she was seeing more clearly. Ox begrudgingly complied; Maka was beginning to realize he _loathed_ being told what to do.

It was a few days before someone on the team successfully acquired a sample. The air in the room buzzed with an indescribable euphoria, and even Ox looked like something other than perpetual annoyance. He even somewhat congratulated her for her out of the box thinking.

The sample immediately left the research facility to be created into a serum.

But within these days of constant brain stimulation and mind numbing theories of what could go wrong, Soul refused to make himself seen.

Her cheek rested comfortably against her Death City Hospital lab coat (she refused to give up her old one; it felt like Kilik would be forgotten if she just gave this one up like it was nothing) and rotated in her chair. It was just her in the lab, the sounds and hums of various machines accompanying her.

She needed to get her thoughts together before she confronted him. She didn't want to lose him over something she did, but she didn't know how to approach it. Half of her mind told her to just wing and see what happens, but the other part wants a well thought out plan before she walked into a hellfire of misery and regret.

Maka was leaning towards preventing self-inflicted misery and regret.

She buried her head into her arms and groaned, the sound echoing in the room. "Dammit…"

She hated to admit it, but she didn't know what to do.

Luckily for her, she didn't have to go seek him out. He came into the room with a huff, his bright and wild and alert. Beads of sweat trickled into the neck of his jacket, and he braced a hand on the table that was next to him.

Maybe luck wasn't the correct word.

"Maka, we have to go."

She shot up straight, sitting up from the chair, "What the hell is going—wait, Soul, are you—"

"Now is not the time!" He reached for her arm, careful to not touch her hand. He sniffed and buried his face into the crook off his elbow, trying to muffle his haggard coughs.

_Oh shit._

Maka was horrified. She knew deep in her gut what was going on, and it had everything to do with her.

She would much rather have him be furious with her than this. _Anything_ but this.

"Soul, are you _sick_? Oh my God, I got you sick, didn't I?" She moved her body so she could get a better look at his face, which looked sickly pale in comparison to his normally tanned skin. "Oh my God, Soul, I don't, Soul—"

"_Maka_," He shook his head and grabbed both of her wrists, looking straight into her eyes. "It's _not_ your fault, okay? We'll sort this out later, but we have to get out of here. They have everything handled, but Arachnophobia—!"

Sounds of muffled gunshots in the distance rang in Maka's ears, and Soul spewed a colorful string of curses. His grip on her wrist tightened, his other hand drawing his pistol. Maka's free hand fell to her side, hanging there numb and limp.

"Okay, I want you to stay behind me at all times, alright? Don't worry; I'll get you out of this." Gun out in front of him, Soul plunged them into the middle of a warzone, his vow of keeping her alive falling on deaf ears.

Soul was sick. That was the only thought running through Maka's head as they raced through the halls, dodging the bodies of the fallen. He was sick, and she didn't even notice it. It might already be too late.

The odds were not at all in their favor.


	7. Chapter 7

There were a lot of shouting, all of it difficult to differentiate between friend and foe. Soul kept Maka close to him, and she was amazed that he was able to stay upright. Ragged breathes heaved his chest up and down, obviously having trouble breathing.

She would much rather have him be mad at her than for him to be suffering like this.

Soul tugged on her arm, nestling her between him and the wall as he looked around the corner. "No one's coming. Alright, we just need to go through a couple of more hallways and then we can get to the cars—!"

"What, no!" Maka drew back from him, finally able to get some clear thoughts in her head. "We can't just leave!"

His shoulder's slumped, not wanting to fight her, "_Yes_, we can. Maka, it's not safe for you here."

"But what about everyone else?" She wasn't about to abandon something that she worked so hard on. "Soul, _people are dying_! We need to at least get the vaccine, just one, and then we can leave—!"

"I can't do that!" Distress was painted on his face, and it scared her. His mask was cracking, and it scared the shit out of her. He glanced around the wall again, lowering his voice, "Please just understand that I have to keep you safe. I already screwed that up when I got sick."

_Which was my fault._

"Then keep me safe," Maka grasped his hand and squeezed, feeling the coldness of his fingers, "Soul, you're—you're dying too. You need that antidote now. Just come with me, and we'll be out of here. Promise."

He squeezed back, but ripped it away so he could hack into the crook of his elbow. He wheezed, and every second of it broke Maka's heart.

"Fine, let's go." He muttered, but his voice was laced with understanding.

Maka nodded, and they took off. They rounded corners and constantly listened for gunshots that could be near them.

Her hand still in his, she silently pointed out the lab Ox told her the serum was supposed to be in. Soul nodded and took a deep breath, swinging the door open. He checked the room, making sure it was clear for the both of them.

He nodded for her to come in, silently conveying it was clear. Soul's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and Maka was sure he was trying not to throw up.

"You okay?" It was a dumb question, but she asked it anyway.

She didn't get a verbal answer, which was what she expected anyways. He stiffly nodded, and kept his eye on the door.

She needed to find the vaccine.

The giant silver lock box at the back of the room caught her eye, and she immediately knew that was where the vaccines were. She reached into her coat pocket to pull out a set of keys, and unlocked the safe. Puffs of bitter cold air blew at her face, goosebumps crawling up her skin as she reached in to pull out a small bottle.

Maka looked at the bottle and bit her lip. Soul _needed_ it. What if she injected Soul with it right now? It wouldn't take very long. It had never been tested, but what if it _worked_? The bottle she had in her hand was a stronger variation, or at that's what she read on the bottle. This could help him.

"You got it yet Maka?" Soul called out.

Maka held the bottle close to her chest. "Yeah."

He violently coughed again, and Maka was afraid he was going to hack up a lung. He braced himself on a table, trembling in a cold sweat that made her cringe. He mumbled that he was fine as he slid to the floor, but her narrowed eyes caused him to give a weak laugh.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm _fine_."

If anything, it made her worry about him even more.

"Don't give me that, you're _not_ fine." She walked over to him and crouched down. "You're really are in no condition to move."

Soul gave an uncommitted grunt, rubbing his temples. "Just give me a second."

His breathing was strained, and his hair was matted with sweat. She had to inject him; there was really no other choice.

"Do you think you can take off your jacket?" She stood up to rummage the drawers for a loose syringe and some antiseptic. Faint groans and the rustling of fabric reached her ears as she held up the tool she was looking for. She grabbed a bag of cotton balls and made her way to him.

"What're you doing?" He looked up at her as she crouched down, trying hard to keep his eyes open.

She rolled up the black sleeve of his black t-shirt and swabbed it with the antiseptic, swallowing thickly. It wasn't the best of circumstances, but she would make it work.

"I'm going to give you the vaccine, okay?" Maka took the syringe and slowly drew out the liquid in the bottle.

The fight was completely gone in him at this point. His head drooped so his chin rested on his chest, mind numbing exhaustion taking over.

Maka placed the needle over the skin of his arm and applied pressure to the pump.

It was quick and it was painless.

She just hoped it worked.

The hours that passed by after that seemed like an eternity.

After Soul passed out and Maka gave him the injection, she moved them both so they were out of sight. It took a while, but she should have known to put her faith in Soul when he said that his friends could handle Arachnophobia.

She waited. She didn't exactly remember what she was waiting for, but she waited. She guessed it was trying to make sure that Soul would be okay, even though she there was nothing she could do at the moment.

She recalled sneaking up to the window on the door to see if there was anyone coming, whether it was Arachnophobia or Spartoi. Finally, whoever was in charge of the universe or her fate or whatever else was out there, Black Star came down the hall, his eyes alert.

She remembered opening the door and calling out to him, telling him in a slew of words that Soul got sick and that he passed out and that they needed to get him to a real hospital.

Everything after that was a blur.

The constant beeping of the monitor beside her was only mildly distracting.

She waited by Soul's bedside, watching his breathe in and out peacefully, like it was no effort at all. It was a total flip from what he had to go through, and she was so glad that he was recovering.

She watched his face when he stirred, shifting his body and groaning softly. His pale lashes fluttered as his eyes opened, focusing on Maka.

"Hey." He struggled to sit up, his bones creaking with each movement.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

He cracked a shark toothed grin, and she knew he was going to be okay, "Peachy."

"How are things?" It was a loaded with many answers, but Maka figured she would go the safe route.

"Things are good. Ox helped set up stations so people can get the vaccine. It's a slow process, but people are getting better."

Soul nodded and settled his head back into the pillow. "And you?"

She offered him a smile, as fake as it was, "I'm fine." He raised a brow, silently calling her out on her bullshit, so she conceded, "I guess I have to find a new job, which is kind of hard to think about. But I'll

Soul stared at her evenly for drawn out seconds, and the stillness of the situation started to make Maka restless. After a few moments of the unbearable silence, he finally spoke.

"You know, you could work here." He said it nonchalantly, but she could hear the underlying hope in his voice. "You're smart; we could use someone like you."

Maka smiled; flattered by his offer if not a little shocked. "You only want me here because I'm smart?"

"Maybe there're other things."

She stifled a giggle with the back of her hand. Not failing to utilize his sarcasm was a sure sign of his recovery. _He was going to be okay_.

She closed her eyes, letting a wave of serenity wash over her. "Yeah, maybe I'll think about it."

His hand found hers and he laced their fingers together. Unspoken words crossed between them and Maka knew that she could make a new life here.

It was a start of a new beginning.


End file.
